Christina Lake is becoming a bat friendly community

Christina Lake is becoming a Bat-Friendly Community!

Over the past two years, the Christina Lake Stewardship Society (CLSS) has taken significant, hands-on action to support and protect local bat populations. The organization has installed and monitored bat boxes to provide safe roosting habitat, hosted a community bat box building workshop, and delivered ongoing public education and outreach through community events, local schools, and broader community engagement initiatives. CLSS has supported provincial monitoring efforts by submitting deceased bats found during winter for White-nose Syndrome testing and has encouraged residents to learn about bats, reduce disturbances to roost sites, and participate in local stewardship efforts.

This work comes at a critical time. In 2022, the fungus that causes White-nose Syndrome was detected in Grand Forks. While the disease itself has not been confirmed locally, the presence of the fungus increases the risk to bat populations in the region. Proactive conservation efforts such as those led by CLSS help protect local bat populations, build public awareness, and demonstrate Christina Lake’s strong commitment to wildlife stewardship through habitat enhancement, monitoring, and outreach.

Why bats?

Bats are a very important component of the ecosystem. Bats provide the best organic pest control available, and they work for free! All of the bats in BC are insectivores and consume a large number of insects, including moths, spiders, beetles and mosquitoes.

All species of bats in BC are protected from being hunted, captured, killed, transported or harassed in the BC Wildlife Act, and many are listed species at risk or endangered. This means that bats cannot be relocated or disturbed during their active breeding season in summer, between May 1 and September 1.

Bats are in trouble

Bat populations are globally in decline due to insect population decline, loss of habitat, wind farms, predation from cats, and most concerning of all, White-nose Syndrome. In North America, the fungal disease, White-nose Syndrome, has been responsible for the deaths of more than 6 million bats since its discovery in 2006. White-nose Syndrome poses no risk to people or other animals.

You can help bats

There are many things you can do to help bats. ● Learn more about bats. You can start with the Bat-friendly Communities Handout or in the more detailed Bat-friendly Communities Guidance Document.

● Learn safety around bats. Never touch a bat with bare hands. Less than 0.5% of bats carry rabies and it is only transmitted by a bite or scratch. Contact a health professional immediately if there is contact. Leave bats alone.

● Provide food for bats. Plant native plants and night-blooming light coloured flowers with a heavy scent will help attract night-flying insects to your garden.

● Provide shelter. Large trees and dead trees are great habitat for bats. Consider planting trees in your backyard. If you have a dead tree that needs to be removed, consider leaving a portion of it as a wildlife stump.

● Embrace a naturally dark backyard. Use motion sensor lighting and point the lights down.

● Avoiding the use of pesticides. Pesticide use kills the insects that bats are relying on to survive. Remove invasive plants from your garden.

● Becoming a citizen scientist! Participate in summer roost counts through the BC Community Bat Programs. ● Use best management practices if you have a bat colony on your building

Important Links for Homeowners with Bats ● A BC Guide for Managing Bats in Buildings ● 7 Steps for Excluding Bats in Buildings in BC ● Got Bats? A Bulletin for Builders in BC ● Got Bats? A Bulletin for Realtors in BC ● Got Bats? A Bulletin for Roofers and Chimney Professionals in BC ● Community Bat Programs of BC